The Editor Zambia
The detention of Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance senior member Kennedy Kamba by the Zambia Police Service has once again thrust the issue of political violence into the national spotlight because it is clear that the country is witnessing the re-emergence of the violent political culture that many Zambians hoped had been left behind with the Patriotic Front (PF).
Police spokesperson Godfrey Chilabi confirmed that Kamba, who is National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) Deputy Secretary General is in police custody in connection with an ongoing investigation, stating that further details would be provided in due course. 
Meanwhile, NRPUP officials have maintained that Kamba was arrested while picking up his daughter at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, with the party saying it has instructed its legal team to follow up on the matter.
The arrest comes against the backdrop of increasing concerns over political violence involving individuals associated with the former PF, many of whom have since become prominent figures within the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance.
For years, Kamba was regarded as one of the most dangerous political mobilisers within the PF, and his name frequently featured in public debates surrounding violent confrontational political activities during Zambia’s highly polarised political environment before 2021.
Needless to say, his name has become synonymous with the violent style of politics that many citizens believed undermined democratic participation.
Recent events have only intensified those concerns. Videos circulating on social media showed masked individuals armed with machetes making threats while claiming political allegiance to Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance.
In one of the recordings, the individuals mentioned Kamba as the person who sent them, and one should not dismiss those claims as allegations because of the person mentioned because the seriousness of such assertions demands concern.
The importance of this investigation extends beyond one individual but concerns Zambia’s continued commitment to ensuring that elections are contested through ideas, policies, and democratic persuasion rather than intimidation and violence being perpetrated by the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance.
When the United Party for National Development (UPND) formed government in 2021, one of its major promises was to restore political freedoms and end the violence that had become associated with election periods under PF.
Many observers noted that the political atmosphere became considerably calmer after the change of government, allowing opposition parties to campaign more freely across much of the country.
That progress should not be taken for granted.
Zambia is again sleeping, walking into that dark era with the Kennedy Kambas of this world preaching violence with impunity.
Political affiliation to a violent party like NRPUP and its allies, the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance in a reincarnated PF, should never provide immunity from criminal investigation. Nor should arrests be portrayed as persecution simply because those detained occupy senior political positions even when their records of violence are in the public domain.
As Zambia approaches another important electoral period, there is little appetite among ordinary citizens for a return to the days when machetes, masked cadres and violent confrontations dominated political headlines instead of debates on jobs, education, healthcare and economic development that the UPND has embarked on.
The Zambia Police deserve public support in their efforts to investigate all incidents of political violence, especially when perpetrated by well-known political thugs like Kamba.
If the country is to avoid returning to the darker PF chapters of politically motivated violence, authorities must remain steadfast in investigating every credible allegation for the sake of peace.
